Saturday 13 July 1940

Saturday 13 July 1940

Shipping attacks off Dover and Portland.

Night: Minelaying in Thames Estuary.

Weather: Early morning fog in southern England clearing by mid-morning.

Main Activity:

At 1500 hours, twelve Hurricanes of No. 238 Squadron and three Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron were sent from Warmwell to patrol over a convoy in Lyme Bay. Failing to find the ships, the RAF fighters encountered a large enemy raid that included the first major deployment of Bf 110 fighter-bombers from V/LG 1. In the resulting action, one Bf 110 was shot down and another two were severely damaged. A pilot from No. 238 Squadron was killed when his Hurricane stalled trying to avoid high tension cables whilst landing.

At about 1730 hours, twelve Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers from II/StG 1, escorted by nineteen Bf 109s from II/JG 51, attacked Dover Harbour and the convoy codenamed BREAD. Hurricanes from No. 56 Squadron together with Spitfires from No. 64 Squadron intercepted the enemy aircraft, shooting down one Bf 109 and damaging two Stukas. Two Hurricanes were also lost and two Spitfires were damaged by AA fire, force-landing at Hawkinge. During the attack, the British destroyer HMS Vanessa was badly damaged and had to be towed back to port.